There’s no denying it: Weddings are expensive. Last year, the national average for all the details associated with the big day (e.g. venue, decor, florals, musicians, and more) was $29,000. And while we can certainly applaud couples resorting to cost-cutting measures, one engaged couple went a little overboard in an attempt to cut costs. In a screenshot of an email reposted to Reddit’s “Wedding Shaming” thread, a soon-to-be-married couple emailed their photographer to try to get out of their agreed-upon fee—by offering to scam one of their employers.

“I wasn’t sure how to approach this with you, but the budget has been increasing rapidly throughout this process,” the emailer wrote. “I’m sure this happens at many weddings and you’ve dealt with this many times.” However, instead of asking the photographer if he could lower his fee or downgrade to a cheaper package, the duo took a different approach. “I was wondering if we could work something out,” the asker wrote. “I work in the events department at (redacted name). I’m wondering if I could hire you to photograph some events there and you could overcharge them and deduct the amount you overcharge from our balance. What do you think? Do you have any other ideas?” While we’re not sure how the photographer responded to this tight-budget couple, we can assume they probably agreed with the comments section of this thread, where many Reddit users expressed their outrage at the request.

“Is this person telling the florist, caterer, and pretty much every other vendor?” asked one commenter. “Stop negotiating with creative people like photographers. If you can’t afford a professional photographer, ask a relative or friend to take some shots. This is SO tasteless.” In addition to pointing out the absurdity of the request, other Reddit users also pointed out that the emailer’s attempt to defraud his employer’s company may not end well for him. “I’m not going to tell anyone how to commit their crimes, but sometimes it really is better to pick up the phone and call someone,” one person responded. “Imagine if it didn’t occur to you that the decision to put this in writing and tell the photographer where you work could come back to haunt you,” added another.

Some even suggested that the photographer forward the couple’s fraudulent request to the employer: “The smartest thing to do is hold onto this until the photographer gets paid and then forward it to the employer,” one wrote. “I doubt they’re the only vendor being offered something like this by the bride.” Others offered the couple several ways to reduce photography costs without breaking the law – or suggesting their provider do more work to recoup the money. “Having a huge party (wedding) is not a right and honestly if you can’t afford a photographer for the whole time, get the important pictures professionally taken and put disposable cameras on the table for guests to take pictures with for the rest of the time,” suggested one user. “Snapshots tell the real story anyway and those are the memories worth looking at in the scrapbook or photo album.”